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Aliases

History

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a Kurdish military and political organization formed in Turkey in 1974.[1] The group first engaged in violent activities in 1984.[2] PKK’s initial goal was the creation of an independent Kurdish state.[3] Currently the group advocates for the autonomy and the rights of the Kurdish people in Turkey and in other Kurdish inhabited states in the region.[4]

The PKK has engaged in various attacks against the Turkish government, including bombings and kidnappings, selecting targets both inside Turkey and around Europe.[5] The group is also known to target civilians who do not cooperate with or assist them and to kidnap tourists.[6] The group moved from using predominately rural insurgency tactics to more urban based terrorism in the 1990s. [7] The PKK has an armed wing called the People’s Defense Force as well as a special urban terrorism wing called the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), which in 2005 initiated the use of suicide attacks against tourism related targets.[8]

Abdullah Ocalan, the group’s founder and leader, was captured in 1999 and at present remains imprisoned.[9] There have been several cease-fire agreements between the PKK and the Turkish government throughout the years. The first began in 1999 and lasted until 2004.[10] During this time the PKK took steps to try and change its image, part of which included several name changes that finally resulted in the selection of its current name. [11] The Turkish government refused to negotiate however. The attempt at rebranding as a political entity failed, and the group decided to return to violent tactics.[12] The latest cease-fire accord between the group and the Turkish government began in March 2013.[13] However, the group has committed several acts of violence since this date.[14]

Political Activity

During a party congress in 2000, the group decided they would only use political tools to attain their goals upholding an announcement made by Ocalan the previous year. [21]

During the course of the 1999-2004 ceasefire the group’s hardliners gained control and in 2004 succeeded in bringing the self-imposed ceasefire to an end. [22]

As of 2014, the group is involved in peace negotiations with the Turkish government.[23]

Financing

Smuggling/Trafficking

The PKK reputedly controls up to 80 percent of Europe’s drug trade. [24]

The PKK charges as much as seven thousand Euros per person to smuggle undocumented immigrants into Europe. One such operation in 2001 was believed to have smuggled 9,000 Kurds from Anatolia to Europe.[25]

The PKK often forces undocumented children to sell drugs in Europe, due to their reduced criminal responsibility.[26]

The PKK is known to smuggle a wide range of illicit goods, from cigarettes to human blood.[27]

Extortion

The PKK relies heavily on extortion, pressuring Kurds in eastern and southeastern Turkey through threat of kidnapping and murder.[28]

Other

PKK money laundering operations have been uncovered in Great Britain, Belgium, Luxembourg, Germany, France, and Cyprus.[29]

Leadership and Structure over Time

The armed wing of the PKK is called the People’s Defense Force (HPG). [34]

Abdullah Ocalan is the founder and leader of the PKK. In 1999, Ocalan was arrested and remains imprisoned.[35] He is still recognized as the group’s leader, although there are other members who have certain powers including Murat Karayilan who is the de facto leader of the organization in Ocalan’s absence, Bayik, Duran Kalkan, Fehman Huseyin and Riza Altun who also have leadership roles. [36]

Allies and Suspected Allies

Both Turkey and Iran claim that the PJAK is an offshoot of the PKK, though PJAK founders claim it began as a non-violent human rights movement within Iran.[50]

As a member of the Union of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), PJAK shares the goal of an independent Kurdistan with the PKK.[51]

The PKK has provided PJAK with access to PKK facilities (e.g., hospitals) and military expertise.[52]

Democratic Union Party (PYD) (ally)

The PYD is considered a Syrian "sister organization" (others consider it a "front group"[53]) to the PKK, though the PYD itself is not usually characterized as a terrorist organization.[54]

Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) (ally)

In 1992, the PUK served as intermediary in talks between the PKK and the Turkish government.[55]

Although there have been tensions between the PUK and PKK-allied groups in the past, since at least 2003, the PUK and PKK have had military ties, shared membership, and often overlapping goals.[56]

Rivals and Enemies

Turkey (enemy)

With its goal of an independent Kurdish state – which evolved to federal autonomy within Turkey, the PKK has been in direct conflict with the Turkish government since its founding.[57]

Recent peace talks have established a ceasefire that, while tense, has held since late 2013.[58]

Since 1998, a majority of PKK attacks have occurred within Turkey. Almost a third have targeted the Turkish military, with police and other government targets accounting for nearly a quarter of all other targets.[59]

KDP (rival)

During the first Gulf War, the PKK and KDP were allies,[60] but during Iraq's so-called "Kurdish civil war" (1994-1997), the PKK and PUK were known to coordinate attacks on the KDP.[61]

Counterterrorism Efforts

In 2009 the Democratic Society Party, was banned in Turkey for suspected links to the PKK; many activists, including members of the PKK, were arrested under the country’s terrorism laws, the trials of many are still ongoing. [66]

Domestic Political:

The PKK and the Turkish government have engaged in many peace talks over the years with the PKK calling a cease-fire in 1999. [67]